Marks & Spencer sold 15,000 Paddington toys in 3 days — now they're landing on eBay

15,000 stuffed toys made to tie-in to campaign sold in
the 3 days since it launched.

Over 100 are listed on eBay at an inflated
price.

LONDON — Marks & Spencer has almost sold out of their special
edition Paddington Bear toys just days after debuting its
Christmas advert starring the children's book character.

M&S said on Friday that it sold 15,000 Paddington stuffed
toys since the advert debuted on Tuesday. The retailer has
produced 50,000 of the bears and said it expects to sell out
within a week. Eighty percent of sales have been online but
many stores are sold out too.

Rob Weston, Brand & Marketing Director at M&S, said: "We
know Paddington is a much-loved character so we purchased 10
times the amount of bears we would normally sell in a whole year.
Our customers have completely fallen for our little bear and
can’t get enough of him."

The sales rush came after M&S debuted its Christmas ad
earlier this week, timed to coincide with the release of the
Paddington 2 film:

However, the Paddington sales rush may be fuelled by
entrepreneurial salespeople rather than genuine fans.

Over 100 of M&S' Paddington toys have already hit eBay at
inflated prices. M&S is selling the stuffed bears in store
for £12 but the going rate on eBay is around £25 — with one even
listed for £50.